Marbury's arrival makes frenzy in Shanxi

16:25, January 27, 2010

The arrival of former NBA All-Star player Stepnhon Marbury put the Shanxi Zhongyu team in the center of the Chinese basketball.

The former New York Knicks guard arrived at Taiyuang, Shanxi Province, by transfer on Tuesday night where he found hundreds of fans and media waiting for him in the airport.

Marbury, 23, had occupied the headline of news about the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) a week ago since Shanxi head coach Wu Qinglong released the news that Marbury would sign the club.

The sina.com.cn opened the twitter for Marbury on Monday and over 5,000 fans had registered on the micro-blog of the website.

The Zhongyu, which had signed former Houston Rockets' forward Bonzi Wells last season, had admitted the news during interviews with various local media though they never announced it officially.

They are expected to sign contract with Marbury on Wednesday and pitch him on Friday or Sunday.

"I'm so excited to be here. This is going to be a great experience. I hope to see some of you guys at the game tonight," Marbury said Wednesday in his blog.

Zhongyu's owner Wang Xingjiang said: "Marbury is a Shanxi Zhongyu's player. He's in the CBA now. I hope more good NBA players come to China, like Robert Horry and (Ben) Wallace. I hope each CBA team has an All-Star NBA player."

Marbury, 6-foot-2, was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003.

He played in the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks. He rejected a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics in 2009.